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Risk
Here as elsewhere, the new always remains unknown and so in some way is inconceivable, On this plane today, as long ago, man walks blindfold unless he is enlightened — as in the past — by Revelations transmitted orally by true Prophets. Yet as in former times, the inertia of human thought and man's old-established habit of giving a fixed scale of values the force of a categorical imperative still render the task of the Prophet hard, thankless and dangerous. ‘Comfort’, the prevailing word for ‘Progress’ in its many different aspects and to varying degrees, forms a sufficient aim for the majority of civilized men of our era. Under these conditions of out times, man is only open to divine values in carefully measured doses, kept within limits so that they do not trouble his bourgeois or socio-communist conscience or threaten the material well-being he has acquired. The danger of such an attitude is that it is natural, and so it is supported by an elemental force. The law is explicit: 'No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, the old is better.' ... This message also reminded us that the youth of our time needs more attention. 1961. Definition Most importantly risk is something that threatens a state of being. Education, and learning in general—as well as all work—is interested in securing a state of being. Security is thus essential for being, but something that is less risky is more secure. The best education is thus geared towards security, because lacking in security a being's time will be made short work of. Work is meaningless without expenditure, and expenditure requires something to expend. It labors for this state, and remains active for this state. Thus, creatures have a sense of things to avoid, since their state of being is predicated on avoiding things — and avoiding things is predicated on risk and the assessment of risk. Without a sense or a measure of risk, their being is, at least in ‘the long term,’ impossible. Existing is thus predicated on a relationship to risk, since a misreading of risk leads to not existing. It has been regarded of importance to exist in certain comfort, rather than discomfort. Christian tradition refers to existing after physical morbidity, either in comfort or discomfort (Heaven or Hell). It's impossible for the subject to conceive of being without being, and thus the threat (or risk) of non-being threatens our ability to be. To exist is to be at risk. Risk is something definite and something potential — and is contextually unavoidable, as well as relatively avoidable. Since the world is constant motion, risk is perpetual and general. To exist is risky. Risk increases conversely to security. Security decreases risk. To be able to estimate risk, and increase security, one must exist. Existence is thus the groundwork of working with risk. Indeed, existing depends on lowering risk (in the sense of taking not too risky actions), and risking depends on existing. A too risky action is fatal, and leads thus to not existing anymore. Since to work with risk is predicated on existing, mitigating existential risk, is in some sense what gives access to lowering general risk. The chief risk is existential risk, since without existence there is nothing to be lost and thus nothing at risk. Existence seems predicated on productive activity, since productive activity is required for the maintenance of what defines existence. If there is no homo sapiens to define existence, there is no existence defined and nothing to work with in this regard. Risk for "humans" is thus chiefly existential risk. Any definition that tries to call something security when it is in fact increased risk, is irrational. Overprotection is not security but a risk. Protection is security. Providence is security. Sometimes a relative risk increases to increase general security, such as in experimentation. Tradition refers to the risk of the soul as that of chief importance, this is in Moses, Zoroaster, Plato, and Jesus. This has been referred to as the risk of damnation, and may be categorised under existential risk. Under existential risk comes also health risk and general security, including the risk of extinction for the human species as well as other species, and thus ecological risk comes under existential risk. Ecological risk is impossible to perfectly demarcate from health risk — they overlap. "It is the accumulation of risks – ecological, financial, military, terrorist, biochemical, and informational – that has an overwhelming presence in our world today. To the extent that risk is experienced as omnipresent, there are only three possible reactions: denial, apathy, and transformation. The first is largely inscribed in modern culture but ignores the political risk of denial; the second gives way to a nihilistic strain in postmodernism; the third marks the issue that the concept “global risk society” raises: how does the anticipation of a multiplicity of manmade futures and its risky consequences affect and transform the perceptions, living conditions and institutions of modern societies?" Types E.g: societal risk. Societal risk depends on valuation, or what the society values. It's hard to demarcate this from civilizational risk, except that societal risk is more general. There can be society without civilization, but there can be no society or civilization without risk. The existential risk of societies depends on their values, which overlaps with their morals — indeed morals are often defined as systems of value. Hence, studies have been made of the survival of societies because of what they value, and how they value it differently to other societies that did not survive. An individuals evaluation of society is a risk in that it can be poor and lead to fatality or harm. Personal risk features into a matrix of societal and existential risk. "The history of risk distribution shows that, like wealth, risks adhere to the class pattern, only inversely; wealth accumulates at the top, risk at the bottom. To that extent, risks seem to strengthen, not to abolish, class society. Poverty attracts an unfortunate abundance of risks. By contrast, the wealthy (in income, power, or education) can purchase safety and freedom from risk" Branching * See: Vulnerable World Hypothesis * See: Safety; Security; Danger. * Writers against risk: Nick Bostron * Writers for risk: Nick Land * Types: Biorisk: Electrorisk; Industrial Decline Risk * Attitudes: Risk Optimism; Doomerism Category:Threat Category:Danger Category:Security Category:Safety